Amal Clooney in Cairo for the verdict of Mohamed Fahmy 29.08.2015

This morning I followed the arrival of Amal Clooney in the Cairo prison Tora. She arrived smiling and self-confident accompained by Mohamed Fahmy and the Ambassador of Canada. The court room was full of journalists and photographers.

But later the court sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years in prison.

Well, the verdict was unexpected in some ways. I do not believe Ms Clooney expected a conviction, otherwise I struggle to see why she arrived in such good spirits. This is not her fault. Ultimately, it is very difficult to uphold justice in a country which does not recognise the rule of law. Ms Clooney’s representations did not make any impact on the court – not because they were poor submissions, but because this was ultimately a politically motivated show trial.

There is only one thing to add. Fighting a losing battle against justice systems abroad is all good and well, but if Amal wants to actually develop as a barrister I still stand by my comment that she would do better to return to the UK and resume some more junior and lower profile work where she will actually achieve good results for the many individuals here who are also suffering injustices at the hands of this government. But much less glamorous, and she would have to spend a lot more time actually preparing and delivering submissions. I do believe this style of work fits around her lifestyle, however, and suits a very particular image.

Thanks for your reply ESR:) I understand your reasoning…. in one way, her involvment in these latest cases has brought awarenss to it indeed..maybe she will find her new life-style contributing more that way… who knows…i guess it would be very hard now for her to go back to the “anonimous” work after being into the spot light.

I personally found the verdict to be as expected. Everything pointed in this direction and I would not have thought that the court would in Fahmy’s favour. By the way, this was a ruling of the Court of Appeal and appeal is not possible anymore. This judgment is a final one. Apparently (as Amal said in the video) the case had already been to the Court of Cassation and then referred to another Court of Appeal, that made this final judgment. So a deportation or pardon would be the last option, as Amal said, and maybe this will be in favour of Fahmy and maybe not… who knows.
I thought she was extremely professional and handled the attention and chaos very well and she was well prepared. But who would expect anything else from her?! She thrives in these kind of situations.

S – I’m pleased you werent shocked by the verdict, but it was certainly a surprise to the international community and the Fahmy family, given the enormous amount of international and internal pressure. Of course on a cynical view this is not a surprising verdict, but many were hopeful.

ESR, one aspect puzzling me is not just her apparent suredness of success upon attending, but why she was in attendance now; for the first time.

The verdict was scheduled to be delivered last month and only postponed on the morning concerned. The defendants, including Fahmy, were at the courthouse that day; as were all who have been far more intrinsically and regularly involved than Amal over the course of the case.

Iirc, Amal was involved in vacation pursuits at the time. Egypt have made clear in the past that Amal was under no threat or restrictions were she to choose to travel to Cairo and there have been no indications re Visa delays.

She could not have known that the earlier point set for delivery of the verdict would be delayed last minute so, if she, as is now being portrayed, is a significant presence for the case, why was she not in attendance that morning last month when, in all likelihood, the outcome would’ve been made known?

Again, she appears only focused on her work in an increasingly selective and arbitrary fashion. Her priorities appear now weighted towards celebrity exposure with ‘work’ appearances calculated on an ‘as and when necessary’ to topping up her career credentials for public consumption.

I agree with you that she has yet to work sufficiently towards real experience and seasoning as counsel. This is not surprising in the lack of creditable experience she has behind the blur of media over-hype. If she truly has it within her skills set to become a lawyer of note in actuality, she cannot continue in this current vein of, as one site aptly termed it, “stunt barristering”. A return to a realistic and focused working condition – putting in hours not just show to be seen to – may salvage her some respect and a chance to continue developing as a practising advocate; otherwise, she is, may be already, consigned to a PR only role. A role which increasingly has diminishing returns for her clients, her, and the overall image Clooney wished of her.

I agree with you OxRed. I like Amal, but so far, I’m not convinced she can carry high-life and fashion celeb profile with Human Rights barrister. I doubt anyone can pull it out successfully. There’s something Fame does, that spins sometimes out of one’s control.
I think her lifestyle could compromise future cases and clients, i.e. her career.

OxRed, I agree on what you said but maybe she wants all of this. Maybe she likes things just as they are right now and to be honest, I don’t see how she could combine being a full time barrister putting in a lot of hours with being the wife of “showbusiness royalty” so to speak. Obviously she loves the whole glamour of that world and if you want to enjoy it as much as you can, you have to make sacrifices in other areas and especially work.

You raise good points, OxRed, particularly about how this may eventually impact negatively on the lives of the people she’s representing.

I find it really hard to believe that she’s not aware of this. She must be able to see that her very visible ‘celeb life’ is taking its toll on her professional one. Of course it’s a difficult act to balance, the media being what it is, but even Amal must be aware that it’s untenable for her to continue to embrace the spotlight in the way she has been doing if she also wants to be seen as the credible, committed professional she claims to be.

S and Morna – I agree. Amal is highly intelligent, and she is choosing a very particular lifestyle. Her interview was very revealing despite her restrictions. She said she wished to represent people in claims against oppressive governments on an international level. There are very few lawyers who would be able to actually maintain such a practice. First, there are very few of these cases. Secondly, the cases there are often don’t leave much scope for representation because the countries themselves don’t uphold the rule of law (Egypt a case in point). Thirdly, most often one does not get paid and so it is simply not affordable to have such an exclusive practice. What type of lawyer would do this work then? The merits of the lawyer in question are largely irrelevant because the national courts in question will not uphold the rule of law. What you need is a lawyer with a high profile who can use this to bring pressure to bear on the state, rather than reliance on the force of their legal submissions, because politics is more powerful in such regimes than law. You need a lawyer with independent means to afford to do such work. And of course you need a passion for it. It does not take much time, so can fit around other commitments. In short, Amal knows full well that her new lifestyle is perfect for the kind of work she wants to do. And her marriage to Clooney has opened a new psuedo legal avenue, but it has also closed many other doors. I don’t think she minds.

Well put, Oxred. But the thing is, unless she is very deluded and not in contact with old colleagues and friends, she must know this. I believe she does. I imagine she is making a conscious choice to work high profile cases and lead a charmed life. Money is no longer a concern, so slogging away on those last minute papers and those long and technical cases, or dealing with difficult clients, just cannot be compelling. So why not just work on an ‘advisory’ role in high profile cases? Very little work, but just enough to keep life interesting.

I do not hold my breath to bump into her at the High Court on a JR any of these days. Stepping back at 5 years call is also poor timing – looking back, it is just at that time that one is truly finding one’s feet!

I agree much better this way Amal but how thin she looks ,my God she need to put up some weight I mean look at her face!! Too thin .
The suite I love it
But come on people the verdict is expected in third world countries .
I noticed that Amal is loosing all her cases such as Greece all the way to the journalist case I think as a beginner lawyer she needs to concentrate more on work and not on husband name because obviously judges do not care about cloony name they look at her work quality

Maha, noty sure if it was a typo error on your end, but… her husband’s last name is Clouney and not cloony:) I guess it is a bit too broad to say she is loosing ALL cases, dont you think? Can you please be more precise which ones? This Egypt one can still be appealed and this veredict was not her fault, since the other two defences got the same verdict. The Elgin Marbles was not a case she defended in court, and the others ones she lost??? Which ones precisely? So make sure to be fair when stating things. Besides, that is the nature of this kind of cases she takes; dealing with terribly corrupt covernmentst. At least her involvment is bringing awareness to them…a lot! Remember also the orginal sentences these journalist got was 7 to 10 years, now they got only 3 and will be appealed, so you cannot say it has been really a complete loss. Far from it, actually.

We see Amal Clooney in her professional capacity and in a professional context – yet how much mainstream coverage would this have received had it not been for her surname?. At the same time of this trial, she is on the cover of two magazines attending a tequila party, wearing a skin tight gold dress with her white knickers showing. The balance between sustaining her legal credibility , being a hollywood wife and an instant fashionista is a very tricky business. Perhaps this is what has made her so fascinating, I was very disappointed in myself, that I looked at her ill-fitting outfit and the bags under her eyes before I actually read the story.

This still would have gotten a lot of coverage because it’s been in the news even before she took on the case . In this specific case, I actually think Amal was a detriment and part of the reason for the guilty verdict. The Egyptian Judge probably wanted to make a point that he will not succumb to the pressures of the media hype around Amal and the publicity she has garnered for this case and I believe the verdict in part was influenced by the reluctance of the Egyptian judicial system to ” fall prey ” to this media hype. Not my opinion and I do not agree with the verdict, but as an Egyptian , am very familiar with Egyptian thinking and why they were found Guilty. .Sadly , I find it odd to even comment on Amal’s fashion choices given the seriousness of the contents of this post , but a white pantsuit just made her stand out even more , and not on a good way. A more appropriate choice would have been a dark colored pantsuit instead .

Thank you Masreya for that insight. That ist what I would love that blog to be – too: Hearing smart things from people I would not easily get the chance to talk to in real life. I was thinking the same: Apart from looking much more real and attractive in those pictures, I was wondering what it feels like to see that huge diamond, that actually degrades her to “wife of…”. I know, it shouldn’t, but that’s just what it feels like to me. It’s like ESR said, she doesn’t seem to be able to keep those worlds and interests apart. But as I said, it’s just what I feel looking at the pictures.

Eve46 and Erika, thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, we do still live in a mans world and especially in the Middle East, where a professional
Woman has to humble herself to the point of not emasculating the men she works and deals with. There’s a certain subtlety in doing this that only comes from experience and Amal has yet to perfect this Subtlety. Don’t get me wrong, I do love Amal and I know she’s very intelligent and I do think the speech she made after the verdict was well thought out, and well versed , but she’s going to need to tone down the fashionista status here on in if she expects to ever be taken seriously in her professional world. If I were her , I’d go buy a few dark plain suits and even very classic, but bland casual clothes Along with going out with minimal or no make up and her hair not perfectly coiffed all the time. Maybe then, her professional life has a chance , but the way I’m seeing it now, she has only built a name for herself as Mrs George Clooney, full time fashionista , part time Barrister.

I agree with you Masreya. I was tried in family court myself, and my attorney had advised me : “zero make-up” and sober attire” and that was in the U.S.
Indeed, I add that Judges are not immune to personal conflicts or dislikes (whether political, social, personal, and men over women issues) and those can influence a verdict. Especially in a macho arab muslim world, in a case where the defendant is represented by a ‘Hollywood star’- like female attorney. Unfortunately it’s a the truth and a fact. And Amal knows it. It would have been more appropriate to wear no lipstick, and a suit to diminish the above factors.

Masreya, I was thinking the SAME thing when I heard the verdict. I, too, have been wondering all along whether Amal’s affiliation would hurt or help her client in this case. Sure, the PR surrounding her every move raises awareness of the plight of her client, but it also brings out even more stubborn behavior by certain personality types who want to use the media spotlight to show off their power in the face of so much pressure.

Of course all the publicity is for her surname
We all know that she knows that but the cloony name gets her cases but doesn’t win her cases and keeping it this way she will have plenty of cases and plenty of loses I think she should prove her self
She didn’t do good to herself by wearing the terrible dresses of the last two appearances do she needs to turn the table and again prove herself

And it might be wise to Tone down the ring while in court. She wore the big rock emerald cut diamond in court. I notice a lot of celebrities, even news anchors/reporters will often wear just a gold band while in public or during interviews just for the sake of not drawing attention to their ring. She might want to consider this. As time goes on, colleagues and clients will feel she is “out of their league”.

Just remember that the two other defences lost to the same veredict and they don’t have Amal’s profile, their pics are not on magazines at a tequila party. I guess when dealing with corruption and politics nothing matters 😦 Like you said, if it was not for her involvment they may had kept the old sentence and be in worse situation.

Greste is safely in Australia on the President’s pardon – no photos anywhere of his lawyer dancing in her underwear. The other journalist is Egyptian and has no dual citizenship – stands no chance. The 3 cases are really not the same. Fahmy should’ve used a seasoned lawyer with substance.

Sorry but he isn’t . He has been sentenced to 3 years in prison and is in Australia because the Australian government demanded his extradition in 2014 and his lawyer published a tweet during the trial and I think no one like this .

Fredsthere, please dont say what has not been written… He Australina got the SAME verdict, 3 years as well.. of course he is not going to volunteer and go back to Egyp to serve, but regardless, he got the same sentence. I bet the judge’s decision was not bases on Amal’s tequila dress. come on! Are you uaware of the reasons he used for his verdict?? Then watch Amal’s interview, or even better, watch an older video of her on Youtube explaining the situation on justice system in Egypt. I think you are being very naive on your assumptions on how politics and power are ruled in these countries. These cases are not easy…is extremelly hard to win actually. But look at their sentence size before and now. Anyways… be fair.

Thank you Harper for not lifting a finger to help a Canadian citizen and bring him back home to Canada where we all believe that human life matters and freedom is all what Canada is about. You’re not getting our votes Mr prime minister.

The Canadian Govt have been far more active than the Fahmy team, particularly Amal, have made out. Diplomatic efforts are not always media transparent, nor should they be. They are behind closed doors back channelled for good reason. Experienced and wise heads in such matters appreciate that taking the scattergun media focused (HuffPo editorials and press releasing incautiously worded letters of ‘demand’ etc) may grab headlines but achieve little of substance.

Amal, in particular, ought to have been more aware of the cultural sensitivities in play. She used her Clooney gained platform to try to ‘shame’ Egypt and goaded Canada when efforts were at a tricky stage. Greste’s team quietly worked in tandem with Australian diplomatic efforts, thereby securing his return home.

Although Fahmy’s dual nationality did further complicate at the time, it was not an insurmountable problem. I’d hazard, the media led splurge by Amal was not helpful in the moment. Indeed, the then Canadian Foreign Minister indicated as much and chose not to meet with and involve Amal further at that point as a consequence. Instead he pursued active State intervention, including a personal visit.

Also, Amal’s proven to be inaccurate claims of past intimidation towards her personally (in an unrelated former role) further exacerbated matters.

Sadly, the approach taken to rely on Amal to provide, as she does, news copy may appear to be action but may have been a misfooted own goal in this instance. And, sadly too, Amal is either too inexperienced or ill-focused to appreciate all of that.

OxRed – this is a most interesting analysis. I entirely forgot the media fanfare Amal instigated around this, and I would agree that it was most unwise. Ultimately it is not the job of a lawyer to bring pressure to bear on the other party (be it an oppressive national state or not) – the outcome is always the same. People get their backs up. I agree about Amal’s lack of experience, she would have benefited from having a lead.

All this assumes that even a western democracy like Canada will always act in the interest of a particular citizen. This seems a bit naive. Many other factors are often at play. Fahmy is a journalist and a dual citizen and presumably quite savvy about the realities he has faced. It seems that he believed the media spotlight was necessary. Which isn’t to say that Amal did not make mistakes.

There is sadly not a lot of room for doubt about the lukewarm efforts of the Canadian government in this case. There are many, many Canadians who were embarrassed and distressed by the ineptitude of the response. And before anyone jumps in to explain diplomacy to me – I get it. The problem is that our Prime Minister does not get it.

Oh dear. Sadly, these things happen. She is a very junior lawyer and it is all a learning curve. Well done for trying.

She’s put a lot of thought into this outfit and it shows. In a room full of reporters, paparazzi, court clerks, police and other members of the judicial system, typically dressed in professional attire usually consisting of blues/greys/blacks – she has deliberately gone for a monochromatic look from top to bottom, emphasising it further with the long sleeves and long trousers – this is very clever, artful and ingenious as it works effectively to make her stand out in the maddening crowd. Her hair glows, it shows she has been immaculately and gorgeously styled that morning, her outfit speaks of luxurious fabric and expensive taste, and her makeup is simply divine and flawless. She has put so much effort and thought into her appearance for this presentation and she looks magnificent. This impecably sophisticated and fashionable look is not a strictly professional “suit” and she has again gone against “convention” to ensure her fashion sense is noticed by the world. Her outfit is very reminiscent of the Venice Stella M outfit, and makes me overawed at her fashion savviness as most of us would struggle to pull off such a well put together look for our own weddings, let alone for a sentencing.

Pls allow me to say that I don’t agree about your comment regarding the way she handles her hair to the side
I think it’s fine
Little change is good
And why the blog doesn’t post my comments
Just because I have a different view
Now I need a lawyer!!

Is she really a junior lawyer? I was under the impression that she was quite well-respected and well-known in her field (before the relationship with George)….

Yes, it’s clearly evident that she puts a lot of thought and effort in her appearance. By wearing head-to-toe white, she knows she’s going to stand out well against the sea of boring, dark-coloured suits. Her makeup is well-done too but the placement of the hair to one side is a bit too glamorous and unprofessional….It seems like everyone is focused on what she looks like and nobody really cares about her case. It’s sad but it’s true….::::sigh::: I do love her blazer-like blouse though.

Yes, she is a junior lawyer of around 5 years call. And not at all well-known, outside of her very small legal circles. You would be forgiven for thinking she has an international reputation – for her marriage, yes, but not her career. I don’t believe she is even listed in Chambers and Partners yet!

She’s classified as a C Panel Barrister within International and Human Rights’ Law by the UK gradings on such matters. “C” places her true status as that of “Junior Junior”; “B” is middle Junior and “A” Senior Junior. None of which denote QC which is of even greater significance, clearly.

Her marriage to Clooney assisted in ‘elevating’ perception of her status. But her position on “C Panel” for the UK Govt groups denotes actual experience and status.

As to much of her blurb: we’ve all done student placements, Pupil bag carrying, and low-grade learning attachments which sound grand, ARE vital to career development, but ought to be understood for what they are and not assumed as more.

BLA – the legal system in the UK operates like this. One completes a law degree or a law xonversion and then takes the bar exams. Then one is called to the Bar and applies for pupillage. If one succeeds during the year long pupillage at a Chambers, which is essentially an apprenticeship, one joins Chambers as a tenant. Then one begins taking ones own work – we all start with junior work. Short hearings, low stake cases, or being a dogs body to a much larger legal team. Eventually as one progress over the years the cases become larger and more important. If one is good enough, after at least 15 or so years of call one can become a very senior barrister called a Queens Council. This the Bar measures seniority in terms of the years since call – and for Amal is it just 5. Another way to judge is to look at the cases she has worked on – she has never lead a large case. She has always been a junior as part of a much more senior team.

In terms of her advisory work, the question really is what was she advising on and for how long. We just don’t know this. Chambers websites, including my own, are known to inflate qualifications. Why? Because barristers are self employed and they sell themselves to clients. Kofi Annan is noteworthy, I don’t consider advising the King of Bahrain as particularly noteworthy, especially since Amal has plenty of family connections. Kofi Annan is more impressive, but it says nothing of her seniority as a barrister. And advice is simply advice – yes counsel do it, but a real judge of ability is being able to carry your own trial. Amal has never done this on any case of note. This is because she is inexperienced and junior!

I am not undermining her qualifications – only pointing out that they are not at all noteworthy at the London Bar, and certainly not to the extent that the media has portrayed it.

ESR, I wonder if George truly understands her position or level of status. He always makes it sound like Amal is leading, in charge of, and in full control of all these high profile cases. And 12 cases at a time. Huge loads of work. George creates this impression.

Jaclyn – he is either completely ignorant, or is perfectly aware and is just crafting a public impression. The reality is a little too nuanced, no?

I doubt Amal still has 12 cases, and 12 is really not very many. It depends also on how she is counting them. It seems to me, with a somewhat experienced eye, that she has but a handful of cases (there are probably others I don’t know about). I’m more interested in the type of cases rather than quantity. For example a single competition law case can have one consumed in paper work, analysis, and court appearances which last weeks and weeks. The case can consume a barrister for 6 months. On the other hand a short judicial review hearing may only last an hour and the paperwork may only arrive the night before. So the quantity of cases is not an relevant as the type of work she does. From where I’m standing, AC seems to do a lot of advisory work but very little advocacy. It’s most unusual for a barrister in her area of law. It also requires very little time, and I can see how deftly she can fit this sort of ‘work’ around her new lifestyle.

White is associated with mourning in the Middle East – From https://coloursandmaterials.wordpress.com/category/about-colours/ : In the “Middle East Both purity and mourning are associated with white. In Iran for example, that definition expands to include holiness and peace and in Egypt wearing white is a symbol of a person’s high ranking status.”

WOW Anna, aren’t you great at bulding a case!! You would be a great prosecutor! 🙂 But remember, the other two defences got the SAME veredict! How do you explain that “failure” you are “caustiously” insinuating that was reflective of Amal’s neglect?

Bla, Anna must have skiped that part because she is assuming Amal failed, when in fact that is not the case… besides, the sentence is so much reduced from the original one and can still be appealed. I find it so unfair to place all faults at her without understanding what is really going on.

I always thought attorneys/barristers both men & women usually wore conservative black, brown, grey, olive, burgundy, while in court. Nice cream outfit, but not the courtroom. I would wear this to a summertime wedding. Maybe even a nice graduation party. Not the courtroom. Thank goodness she didn’t wear her sunglasses on top of her head while in court. I noticed a few hand hair tosses and pulling the hair all to one side unfortunately. It sends a “funny” message to all in the courtroom who notice. It makes one think you are preoccupied with oneself…even in the courtroom. I hope it’s not the case, but it appears this way to others, unfortunately in that kind of environment.

Yes, she could not have worn this in a British court – the dress code is strict ‘dark suit’ plus the usual get up. One of my counterparts once forgot his court shoes as he had rushed back to the UK from holiday for the hearing, and he actually borrowed a pair of shoes from the concierge at his hotel! It was a tight fit!

It seems Egyptian courtrooms are more relaxed on counsel’s dress code, or Ms Clooney doesn’t seem to care. Either way, I agree that a dark and sobre suit probably would have showed more deference to the court.

And I loved her speech. She was (finally!!) well versed and practiced in advance for a verdict that she (and the rest of the world) knew was predictable. I am so glad that – on this occasion – she did not dutifully read off a script in a monotonous mumbling undertone, but rather launched beautifully (though couldve left off the beginning “ok”) into a well rehearsed and memorised speech. Well done Amal. You have learnt from your previous mistakes, have taken some voice projection lessons, looked to and at your audience and employed hand gestures – good on you for using your husband’s talents and resources to capture an audience!

You Anna..hahahaha what a creative imagination you have…If only it was all true. I guess you will roll into “pleasure” if you watch the interview Amal gave to the Egypt TV. But take a deep breath before you start watching…because Amal may take your breath away 🙂

Sali, “Anna” is a bundle…and “they” come and go and come back. 1 for “all” and all for “1” of multiple names…if you get what i mean 🙂 ..Pay attention to the “speech” and you will recongnize the one from the other:)

Sali/OnYourFace/Nadia, sweet angel lady, thank you for taking the time to comment on my comment, multiple times, but dear sweet lady, there is no need to take on multiple voices and have a conversation with yourself. Sweet lady, if you don’t like a comment, move your lovely eyes over it and carry on – that is what most of us do with your comments. Wishing you a lovely day.

Let there be no misunderstanding – this was a very well rehearsed and practiced stage production for Amal. She would’ve been wrong not to have memorised her (2) speech(es) beforehand (there being only 2 speeches she could give). She is on the world’s stage and it does not allow tolerance for failure or criticism. Every possible outcome and scenario was planned for by Amal, well in advance for this very public event. As it should have been. And the production went almost perfectly.

I say ‘almost’ perfectly played because Amal forgot to practice the look of spontaneous empathy and concern that one typically gives to the wife of someone who has just been convicted. The grim look reads “hmmm – what do I say and do at this?”

A little more practice and fine tuning at the edges and she will be fine at this self selected stage production for the masses type of lawyering, wearing the latest fashion and in impeccable style on the world’s stage – she has a limitless production budget to cover hair, style and makeup and we have come to expect to be distracted and entertained by her emphasis on clothes and appearance.

I think Anna is the old old old comentator called jon321? Keeps coming back dsiguised under different names, right Jon321? There is still nobody who can make such delusional affirmations as did jon321 and “Anna”, of course.

She spoke too fast during her speech. I am still not convinced on her public speaking abilities, but agree the fact that she had memorised it was an improvement. It’s a very sad day for MF and his family.

Maariah, then watch her TV interview for Egypt TV…and i am sorry to say this but i think it will shut you up deep inside about her abilities and capabilities on public speaking and all your other doubts. It will help you with your assumptions a great deal!

Yes, her interview was good, it was well planned. But her public speaking under pressure is not. She was very poor at the European court also. Obviously Amal is intelligent and capable, she wouldn’t be a barrister if she wasn’t. But there is always room for improvement and critique. No need to go all ad hominem!

hahahaha Anna Anna… how about you dear? Do you have another post ready to go in case this one does not come across so convincingly that you are not an Amal hater? Have you practiced your other post? Or are your production not allowing any room for contradiction of your absolute truth, from readers here? The irony of “your absolute truth” is that your clearvoyance power seems to have missed a few clues though.

Thank you Anna. Very contrived. Someone with gravitas should have represented this man, not someone who is more concerned with being photographed wearing the latest designer outfits, and making a short, and as one commentator put it, ‘trite’ statement about the judgment.
Wasnt she partying, wearing a sheer gold dress, accompanying George and the Gerbers on their ibiza ‘party hard’ event selling their tequila just days ago? Would that be why she has bags under her eyes?
Please understand I adore women who present beautifully, are professional and accomplished. But this Clooney fiasco is too much.

the first picture posted, where she is very smiley, comes off as totally unprofessional, not the demeanor you would expect for someone arriving at court (similar expression at her tequila parties in ibiza). this girl is “on show” all the time.

I did not understand this either “sometimesafansometimesnot”. It’s like saying, “I know you’re here to see me, so I better smile and look good”. I don’t see it as “attorney, counsel, barrister” behavior. It’s not the red carpet. That’s why I say celebrity life and professional life are becoming a blur. To the outside it’s becoming a joke/media circus. It’s becoming difficult to take her seriously.

I’m wondering if there could have been any other outcome given that Amal was a coauthor of a paper that criticised the Egyptian judicial system. For the Egyptians to then turn around and free these guys would look like it agreed with the paper – loss of face would not be acceptable. So while Amal’s being on the case raised the profile it also could have worked to the detriment of the journalists

Why doesn’t she answer in Arabic. ?! And at the end of the interview the interviewer says Amal we know you agreed to speak of nothing else but this case and we respect that. Lol good prep Amal – when will we hear her speak Arabic!!

It is strange for me to say this, but I concur with everything that everyone has posted above. All posts contained salient points that were valid to one degree or another. It was a refreshing, interesting, and enlightening scroll of comments. It was a welcome break from the usual fashion/ make-up/gossip, although make no mistake, I enjoy that too! Reading people’s emotional/political/thoughtful/provoking reactions to Amal’s latest case was a great insight into the intelligent, compassionate and astute participants who engage within this blog.

Well said Psemsk! That’s why I love this blog. It’s a refreshing take on what’s available on magazines, as there are many intelligent contributors on this space. I enjoy reading the comments (some more than others) and look forward to it after reading endless cases. Keep up the great work on the blog Nati

Erica – I’ve never said that Amal has lost all of her cases! I think that was another commentator. Talk of winning and losing is by the by in this case – her submissions were irrelevant, there was no real trial here. It is all very sad. I am sure Amal has ‘won’ cases in the past, we wouldn’t know about them because she was largely unknown then but I’m sure a few of them are on her Chambers website.

In terms of her public speaking, I would agree with Maariah. She seems to struggle with impromptu public speaking – the interview was well rehearsed. I would like to see her addressing the Supreme Court and dealing with judicial intervention before making up my mind on her public speaking abilities.

I am so sorry, ESR, please accept my sincere apologies! It was indeed not you but another commenter my initial posting referred to (this system lacks an edit function!). However, i could not agree more with your very insightful postings than i already do. By any chance, are you in the law business yourself??

And to the co-commenters above: being successful as a woman is already, no – is STILL – hard even in the western world as well. Even more so in the mideastern world. Which is why i personally would welcome a lady of mideastern roots to be successful instead of following a rather shallow route of fashion and being ‘the wife of ….’.

Erika, as ERS posted below, neither ESR nor I ever said she has ever won a case, so there is no way i can reply to you since i never said or argued that she ever won a case. The same way you cannot truelly say, yet, that she has lost one.

As for the sentence, it was a much bigger sentence before, so the progress of this case in one way or another has brought better results. Unless you dont think a 7 to 10 years sentence is smaller and better than a 3 years?

Well, i guess your magazine made the right decision then? Thanks for letting us know hahaha but in what does this contrubute to your argument or mine? Why are you cheering up for Amal to be let down and expect me to cheer up as well? Sorry i dont have that on me, i am a cheerleader not a put down-ner.. if such word exist 🙂 (?)

BTW Erika, about ESR comments: i may not agree with all ESR reports but ESR’s coments are always weel put and interesting to read, has content, knowledge and most of the time, is fair and not meant to just put Amal down. So make sure to do your homework well before making asumtions on who posted what 🙂 More than a few of us here commenting on this blog, appreciate each others point of view very much, even though we may not agree on all, we are able to distinguish the commentators that contribute to the fun of visiting this blog, thanks to Nati’s so very hard work on putting it toguether:) I hope you join us 🙂

I am deeply impressed by Amal Clooney and her important work and hope the best for the journalist.
Great, a glamorous beautiful lady fights for human rights.
Of course she has to cope with jealous reactions of people telling lies about her and bashing her.
As we can read even here.
But these are peanuts …
Good luck AC!

Really sad and horribly frustrating outcome for the three journalists. Lets hope Sisi steps in and grants the pardon that this ridiculous situation warrants and these three men can have their lives back.

Amal really needs to reassess her priorities if she wants to be seen as credible. There’s nothing wrong with living a dual life but the balance is so off and her celeb life is casting a long cynical shadow over her professional one. I noticed in the Egyptian interview that she stressed her long-term involvement and contact with her client, and wondered if this was a reaction to media perception that she seems a little ‘hands-off’ when it comes to the hard slog involved in these cases?

If she’s troubled by the perception that she’s lightweight, then all she has to do is change the narrative – ie. rein in the ‘celeb lifestyle’. She may be a lot busier work-wise than we know but as long as 90% of the coverage she willingly invites and clearly embraces is celeb lifestyle-related, then that’s how she’ll continue to be perceived.

Morna.. you sound actually super cute on this comment of yours:) Makes me remember family members kind of “love”…. deep inside you really want Amal to win it all don’t you? That is super cute i think..did i get it right? hehehe

@onyourface – No. And although I’m sure you didn’t mean it in a patronising way, the word ‘cute’ really should be reserved for babies and baby animals. 🙂

Re Amal, I really want to like her but find the reality of her increasingly very frustrating. She has a platform that could be used so much more intelligently and effectively. There’s too much of a disconnect between the serious, credible professional she’s billed as and the endangered-skin-wearing, fashion obsessed, embracer of fame (and her husband’s borderline d-list press antics) Amal we’ve seen over the past year.

I’d like to see her move away from the latter and use the platform she has to really give substance to the former.

As I said earlier, the balance needs serious adjustment if she wants to make a meaningful mark.

I have a hard time reconciling Amal the jet-setting celebrity fashionista in the short gold lame see-thru dress plugging tequila in Ibiza, with Amal the much lauded humanitarian lawyer days later ‘negotiating’ the release of her client in a conservative Muslim court. Something, seems amiss.

Oh no? Then that is strange !! Then WHY are you wasting time here Morna? Reading your other comments it is clear you don’t like Amal, and you have just confirmed that too. So why are you here??? I would not spend my precious time on somene i have such little appreciation for.

“cute” …. no… you are right, i should not had used “cute”..it is not really cute indeed..it is CONFUSING 😀

I agree with you completely Morna . She needs to do some major damage control and tone down the celeb high life for a while. Stay under the radar for at least 6 months . Then and only then will her professional life have a chance .

It will be interesting to see how Amal continues to craft her image. She really has no choice; she is part of the Hollywood world now, where image is everything. Either she actively controls her image, or others will do it, in a way she may find unacceptable.

Will she follow the lead of Angelina Jolie, who has been a master of Hollywood image crafting? In 2004, when “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” the movie where she met Brad Pitt, was in production, she was best known for wearing a vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s blood and making out with her brother at the Oscars. Since then, she has transformed her image into the Saint of Hollywood, part roving human rights ambassador and part devoted mother of the “Brangelina” international brood.

George Clooney clearly believes that Hollywood mega-fame can be used as a force for good. As distasteful as the jet-set Casamigos Tequila marketing blitz may seem, he is using the profits to fund the Satellite Sentinel Project, to capture real-time satellite images of potential threats to civilians along both sides of the Sudanese border. “We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we’re watching — the world is watching,” Clooney was quoted as saying a few years ago. “War criminals thrive in the dark. It’s a lot harder to commit mass atrocities in the glare of the media spotlight.”

This may be the kind of approach Amal is aiming for, with mixed success so far. Whether she can straddle the worlds of scholarly/professional international human rights barrister and Hollywood human rights icon remains to be seen. It’s interesting that Masreya and others believe the media hype surrounding Amal was detrimental in this particular case. In my opinion, her approach to fashion since her marriage has not helped her cause, either. She could be parlaying her love of clothes to support designers advancing ethical fashion; instead, she often comes off as spoiled and hypocritical. Can she turn her image around? I hope so, but honestly, I don’t know if she has it in her.

Point of information, Janet – since September of last year Clooney’s satellite project is not focused on using its scope of information gathering to monitor the well-being of people in the region and to assist in evidence gathering of attacks against people. It is now focused upon following money and tracking arms commerce in the region.

It was always a project treated with some suspicion, however laudable its mission statement sounded, because it is self-monitoring and not subject to any proper oversight. Its new ‘mission’ seems even less transparent and is considered worrisome by many agencies and Governmental/Trans-Governmental bodies.

Very well stated. I do hope for all her hard work prior to meeting mr clooney, she can turn her image into a respectful one. I do feel bad for her because im sure this must all be a very pressured time for her, but i think as time passes she”ll figure out how to be a supportive wife without jeopardizing her reputation

I am starting to think the entire premise is flawed. I am not sure one can be a practising lawyer and an activist. There are many theories on this, but I personally believe the two must be separate. The Irish claimants in the hooded men cases were worried about the extent of the publicity Clooney generated, and here it seems to have at least contributed to the abysmal verdict. A Lawyer can certainly be an activist, but not publi ally so on the cases they are working on. Some great activists I can think of include Clive Stafford Smith and Shami Chakrabati, but neither are practising lawyers – they use their legal background and achieve great results.

I am just not convinced that Amal, at her junior level, can just cherry pick ‘I want to save the world’ cases and actually achieve anything. I genuinely believe she would do better to develop her professional skills and expertise, take on some more average work, and stay out of the public eye. That would give her professional credibility, and she could continue junioring on interesting human rights based cases. But at the moment I feel as if she is being hired for her marriage-based profile rather than her merit as a lawyer. Changing her surname didn’t help with keeping the professional and private separate either…

And this is a real shame. We all desparately want a woman to be celebrated for her professional merit and not her marriage credentials.

Nereida… Two points. First, there is no such thing as a ‘human rights’ lawyer. The only people who ever say that are non-lawyers. You will be hard pressed to find a single chambers in London claiming to specialise in ‘human rights’ law. Human rights cut across all kinds of law – public, crime, tort, EU… you will even find human rights claims being brought in the area of land law. When people refer to ‘human rights’ lawyers they are typically referring to either public law lawyers who specialise in human rights claims, or public international lawyers who also focus on human rights. And it is rarely a specialism – there isn’t enough work in the area.

As for whether she is an activist… Well if you listen to her own words in the interview she revealed something rather interesting. That the kind of work she wants to do is essentially challenging governments who violate other people’s human rights and liberties. The job of a lawyer is to take any job that comes to them – the taxi rank rule. That means if the state asks a lawyer to defend an oppressive measure, that lawyer must do so on the basis that everyone deserves representation (and some violations of rights are necessary and justified). However, Amal is saying that she wishes to be more selective in her work, to bring it in line with her view of justice. These are the words of an activist who is hoping to use the court room to further her cause. That is also how her husband portrays her work and how she continues to allow the media to portray her work.

ERS, if she wants to use her skills, position and law to do just that – what you described she is more inclined to do – is that a band thing? And could it also be that she has been mentored by Robertson, who himself, oftens takes on the activist role. He writes books on it, he does lectures, he manisfest his feelings about his cases and issues he represents as a laywer in a way that goes beyong his role as a laywer. So i wonder if that would be a bad thing!?!

She’s a smart woman i- I feel at times she really does try to avoid public light for example after she attended the golden globes with George she quickly noticed that she didn’t like the red carpet so for the tommowland premiere she stayed off the red carpet but was there in the background . I think it’s going to take time. The recent gold dress with her looking great I will add, but doing shots and partying looks so strange right before a big case as such to me. She looks like a rookie if you ask me by doing that. Let’s see IF AT THE UK LAUNCH OF THE TEQUILLA brand she tones it down a bit in September .
Another point I would like to make- I found it really a bad move to smile and pose before this verdict in the court room – people’s lives are at risk here possibly even her own really and she’s smiling for the camera. What a silly move I feel it was self serving – not professional. I wanted to see a hardcore stern faced Amal walk in and then deliver her disappointed speech afterward it would have blended better.
As far as her looks she looks great – and professional.

If I was Amal I would not have commented or interviewed at all! It’s too impulsive! I would have created the tone to media & the public by NOT commenting. She just might stick her foot in her mouth if she feels she always has to comment, always has to interview, always has to pose for pictures. In doing so, the media & journalists are going to grow to expect it every time. I say “Keep them wondering” by making NO statements. It didn’t help her case. Just do what you were trained to do and stop wasting time by giving the media & microphones an earful. It’s not like it’s going to help the case. It sounded more UNintelligent because she stated the obvious. It’s not necessary to state the obvious. We already know that. I think she should NOT state anything. Stand tall, walk from point A to point B and do your job as an attorney, not a celebrity. People are going to start playing her for a bimbo rather than a scholar and an attorney. No comments is what would be best.

I love the outfit but it seens too light and airy given the severity of the case at hand. I think she should have been dressed in more somber colours and with her hair up. I don’t understand the photos where she is smiling? I’m not sure how you could smile on such a day – even if it was pre verdict. It’s a tragic outcome for free speech and the Canadian government has really failed its citizens. The Australian government did an amazing job of getting Peter Greste home. Why couldn’t the Canadian government do the same?

First, I believe Ms Clooneys outfit was not well chosen at all. Although her pant suit is beautiful fabric and well tailored and covers up professionally for a Middle Eastern country, it does have the wrong color and cut. A sharp tailored cut would have been much more preferrable. Her suit rather shouts – fashionable for the Côte d’Azur and is a reminiscence of her wedding pant suit. When Ms Clooney wishes to be taken more seriously in business she should rather opt for clothes in a “Claire Underwood” or Angelina Joliestyle. As for her hair, it is beautifully styled but a far cry from being professional. When she does not want to cut her hair in a more professional style, she should wear it in a pony tail or chignon pulled out of her face. Her constant hair touching and head shaking in order to get some loose strands out of her face are a complete no go in the professional world. Imagine Ms Obama, Angela Merkel or some other top professional women constantly touching their hair at public appearances.
As for her speech, it was short and content wise spot on. Her voice though is unsteady and she speaks too fast. Both mainly signs of people being nervous and afraid of public speeches. This can be easily trained away by professionals.
As for her style to dress in private life. I think she should consider some changes here too. Her style ( good example the most recent Tequila one) is simply tacky and rather cheap looking. Expensive clothes do not necessarily look classy just because of the price. It is a matter of style, color and fabric. Sexiness is rather about well chosen, well tailored pieces that show off the figure encouraging imagination rather than revealing as much as possible.
The Tequila outfit is one of the worst I have seen on her. She looks like a cheap Vegas party girl, red long fingernails, red lipstick, underwear to be seen, dress far too short – just too much of everything. On the contrary Ms Crawford, stylish, sexy and very classy and nothing to do with their age difference.

To sum up my personal comment:
I feel that Ms Clooney has yet to develop her personal style for her private outfits as well as her professional ones. The way she currently presents herself in public is a clear tell tale and makes it very visible that she is still insecure and has yet to find her place int the two worlds she wants to be part of – Hollywood glamour and professional business.

WoW! This is really turning into a media circus! Even ET (Entertainment Tonight), a show about celebrity’s was there in court. The lifestyle of celebrity and barrister are really beginning to blur! The true court issue is becoming lost and appears photogs are there just to see her and take pictures of Amal. It’s becoming a regular happening at all places that she is expected to appear. What a distraction it must be for all involved. A huge media circus that doesn’t appear it’s going to let up anytime soon! Just look @ the expressions of some of these photographers & reporters. They look like blood thirsty people who will knock you down for the story! Their interest is Amal, and not the court issue!
It’s a media frenzy!

This isn’t the first time Amal attend the trail , George was in a charity event ( when he said that Amal is the smart one ) and he also said that she is working in Egypt . when the trial has been postponed last month , i noticed that the pics in the news were old ( 2013) i think . Maybe Amal did attended with her client and the journalists were not allowed to cover the trial . This time Mohammed’s family published that Amal is coming . I’m just saying it’s hard to believe that she never attended with her client .

It’s been stated by Fahmy’s family and was in a number of the advance press releases about her attendance, this was the first time she was to be in Egypt on this case. It was the first of her meeting Fahmy too.

George likes to give a certain impression about Amal’s work. Many instances over the months have proven him at times inclined to overstate things or present them in a way that, while not entirely inaccurate, contrives to imply an image but not always with absolute accuracy.

OxRed 🌹❤️ Thank you
” George likes to give a certain impression about Amal’s work ” couldn’t agree more 👏🏻 wish he just stop doing that . When I followed this site At first I was just curious about george clooney wife, now I think I fell in love with Amal the lawyer , but i should stop defending her in the wrong way – This was the first time she attend the trail .

He was also asked how was she dealing with all the publicity. He answered that so far so very well and that at the end if was good for her cases. To me, that was a Hollywood answer.
I really wish that couple the best. I find they belong to such different worlds! The world of image (lies), and the world of the pursuit of justice (truth). Forget about clothes!
PS It has also amazed me how his aged since marriage!